Confidence Boost
by MagicienNoire
Summary: Buck and Marley meet whilst training and a battle follows suit. Marley beings to feel things she has never felt before, but can she use it to overcome her opponent's defence? Preparation for my actual fic, please R&R and Pokemon is owned by the people that own it.


**Confidence Boost**

'So, you ready or what!' Buck yelled at his opponent, a girl clad in a Black and White dress. The two had met while training near Stark Mountain and, Buck being Buck, demanded a battle.

Marley, adjusting her bow quietly eyed down the fiery red head that glared at her.

'Hurry up Marley! You know I hate waiting' He raged

'... Let's being then Buck' she muttered throwing her pokeball high up.

A bright burst of blue and a moment later her small Bug-pokemon had appeared. Its golden shell shone and its crisp white wings made a humming noise as it flittered about. Her Ninjask was ready to battle.

'Heh, that little weakling ain't stand a chance' He announced as he threw his own pokeball. This time from the swirl of blue a small black creature with glowing yellow circles placed on its body by Arceus itself appeared. It gave a soft growl before lowering itself into a battle stance.

'Alright Umbreon' Buck cheered as Marley had her usual sour face.

'Ninjask use Agility'

Her pokemon obeyed and instantly began to speed around the arena, Umbreon did its best to keep up but soon all it could see was a blur or colour.

'It has Speed Boost ability on top of that' Buck noted before he ordered a Double Team from his own pokemon. Instantly ten more Umbreons appeared from nowhere, forming a circle with their backs to each other. A defensive tactic and one that worked many times before hand.

'Ninjask keep up Agility'

The speed of her pokemon increased dramatically, Marley now had trouble seeing the blur that was her pokemon, it was nearly time.

'Umbreon use Dark Pulse!' Buck cried, sick of the waiting. Despite being a defensive trainer his patience was not long.

Each of the rings on the bodies of Umbreon and its clone began to glow; darkness began to form a sphere in the creature's mouth. It waited, just long enough to build up more power before releasing it in the form of a beam of darkness. Each beam aimed a new direction, forming spears that lanced outwards, searching for a target. Ninjask however, was not called the Ninja Pokemon for nothing. It swiftly manoeuvred around the beams as gracefully as a dancer, not even coming close to being hit.

Buck grunted in frustration. Umbreon couldn't battle a pokemon it can't hit but there would be no way to slow Ninjask down...

An idea.

Crazy, probably going to fail but he was never one for not trying.

'Umbreon, use your Agility!'

At his command the eleven Umbreons burst from their formation, each running their own individual path around the battleground

The arena was now a mix of the blurring lines. Marley smiled, now that Buck had broken his formation she can finally begin her assault.

'Ninjask use X-Scissor!'

The familiar cry of her pokemon could be heard briefly before Umbreon after Umbreon disappeared in a puff of smoke, signifying their defeat. When the majority of the smoke had cleared, the real Umbreon stood in the very centre of the field staring at the now still Ninjask, floating, waiting in front of it.

'Umbreon use Baton Pass'

Umbreon growled before it glowed a bright white, it then shot back into the pokeball like a bolt of lightning.

'Dusknoir, let's do this!' Buck cried as he threw his next pokeball. The dark being that emerged had a bright yellow smile carved on its belly, its red eye glowed menacingly.

'... Dusknoir will have as much luck as Umbreon you know..' Marley whispered to Buck, but despite the distance he still heard.

'Are you saying that my pokemon aren't good?' He yelled back in a rage, causing her eyes to widen in shock.

'No... I-I just meant that Ninjask is getting faster as we speak... It will nearly be impossible to catch up'

'Heh, that's what you think, Dusknoir use Trick Room!'

'Noir!' His pokemon cried before it raised its arms. A flash of pink light surrounded them before a square spread out from beneath him, covering the arena. The light then shot up, encasing them in a cube of psychic energy.

'Now use Fire Punch!' Buck cried and Dusknoir shot forward towards his foe.

'Dodge it' Marley said but to her surprise when Ninjask moved it was with a slow gait, she shuddered as she remembered what Trick Room did.

'Ninjask' she gasped as she watched her pokemon being struck by the flaming fist. Her pokemon soared through the air and came to a rest at her feet. It struggled to get up, but it finally managed to get back in the air.

'.. Time to rethink my strategy then..' She mused as Buck commanded his pokemon to perform Substitute, turning itself into a large plush doll.

Marley began to contemplate a course of action.

_Dusknoir will have a speed bonus thanks to Umbreon, perhaps it is faster than my newest pokemon. However this means all of Ninjask's ability and Agility's have been a waste..._ _But maybe not if I send out my ace, but is it too early?..._

'Ninjask use Baton Pass'

Her pokemon too glowed in a bright light before returning to its capsule.

'Arcanine you're next' Marley yelled, surprising herself at her own confidence

Her fiery beast emerged and gave a triumphant howl.

'Now use Agility'

Her beast, despite its size, powered around the Trick Room, slower than it should have been but still fast enough to evade a wild Shadow Ball that its foe launched.

'Now use Extremespeed!'

'Crap!' Buck cried as the first hit move collided with his plush doll. Normally it would have no effect, but against the solid toy it was a knockout move.

Dusknoir reappeared, floating ominously above the floor.

'Use Rock Slide Dusknoir' Buck cried and his pokemon slapped its hand against the dirt, causing a wave of rocks to pulse towards the Fire Type.

'Jump up, then use Heat Wave' Her pokemon obeyed, barely avoiding the cascade of rocks but as soon as he was clear he blasted hot air at such a high pressure that his ghastly opponent was forced back into the wall of the Trick Room.

'Excellent..'

'You haven't one yet!' Buck roared 'Now use Shadow Ball'

Dusknoir lifted itself of the ground, aimed one hand at the dog before firing a sphere of dark energy. Arcanine tried to dodge but the effect of Trick Room inhibited that completely. AS the sphere struck Arcanine was engulfed in a cloud of smoke.

'Keep firing Dusknoir' His pokemon obeyed. This time using both hands, it fired orb after orb of the shadows. Smoke swelled around the crash site, blocking most of the field from view. Dusknoir just kept firing and firing.

'That'll do' Buck commanded and his pokemon lowered his hands

'... Please..' Marley said, hoping that her pokemon heard her words before Buck realised.

As the smoke cleared all that was revealed was a perfectly round hole in the floor. The light purple floor of Trick Room however, did not delve deep into the tunnel.

'Dusknoir look out!' Buck cried but it was too late. Marley has issued a Fire Blast, and one was about to be delivered

The ground beneath the Ghost burned a bright red, Dusknoir started to float, but when Arcanine was out of the speed trap it had set there was no chance of escape.

The land cracked and broke, fire spewing forth beneath Dusknoir, encasing it in the hellfire.

'Arcanine make more tunnels quickly.' Marley commanded and her pokemon, moving like lightning underground caused nine more perfectly round pit to form, each outside of Trick Room's jurisdiction. The fire around the ghost died down, while the ghoul collapsed onto the floor.

'Now Arcanine use Baton Pass' what appeared to be her team's signature moved again encased her pokemon in light before it was swapped out with Ninjask.

'Dusknoir get up and use Rest!' Buck screeched and his Pokemon's evil eye dimmed, eventually becoming as black as the cavern it was kept in. However it did not stay this way for long, the eye flared up almost as soon as it went out.

'.. But how?' Marley questioned.

'Simple,' Buck teased 'ever heard of Berries?'

'Ninjask use Agility to get underground' Marley ordered, her new tone now causing Buck to question what happened to the shy, introverted girl he knew.

Her pokemon obeyed, and despite Trick Room it managed to get to the hole in the ground before Dusknoir could grab it. Now that it was lost in the burrow of the underground Dusknoir had no way to catch it.

'Ninjask use Double Team, and then follow up with the clones using X-Scissor'

Her order was in perfect clarity to her Pokemon's ears. Soon, buzzing filled the air. Hundreds of Ninjask then swarmed out of every portal, instantly being slowed down by Trick Room, but their sheer number made up for that.

'Dusknoir, fend them off with some Shadow Punch!'

His pokemon grunted in agreement, his fists glowing purple as he lashed out at the nearest of the doubles.

His fist collided with it, only for a small puff of smoke to signal the end of that particular clone. Dusknoir spun around with surprising speed, his fist connecting with the majority of the attackers. Only a few managed to actually hit but they were swiftly dealt with.

'Dusknoir, use your Double Team' Buck knew that he needed to increase his own numbers if he ever wanted to survive this battle.

His pokemon, in-between punches quickly spawned two copies of himself.

'Now use Ice Punch, Thunder Punch and Fire Punch!'

His three pokemon each cried out before their fists shone a different colour. One's was blue, the other yellow and the final one was red.

Their renewed assault quickly dealt with the remaining of the swarm and Marley, who up until now was content to watch Dusknoir slowly but surely be overwhelmed, was quickly thinking up a new strategy.

'Use Double Team again, but this time use Mind Reader and Aerial Ace'

Again, swarms of bugs catapulted themselves out of the holes but this time when the Ghost trio went to hit their opponents dodged and quickly countered with hard slashes.

The clones of the ghost however, where not going to be taken down that easy. With more effort they now used both of their fists to punch out, sometimes just clipping a clone that was in the background while the actual target avoided the strike. However once one of the Dusknoir were struck by several of the Bugs it quickly burst apart in a cloud of smoke.

'Grrr' Buck grunted in frustration, this battle was not going his way at all.

'Time for my new move' He bellowed across the field catching Marley's eye.

'Punch each other's fist,' he yelled 'Frozen Thunder!'

The two remaining Dusknoir did as told, their fists collided with such force that energy from both the Thunder and Ice Punch created a massive wave of electrical energy that forked out at impossible angles, catching the majority of the Ninjask unaware, the few that were hit by the lightning and not destroy were frozen solid, smashing when they hit the ground.

'.. That was impressive' Marley said, the shy girl was back. She didn't know what to do, she could try again with Double Team but the result would probably be similar to this.

She began to blink furiously as the light from Trick Room flared before disappearing completely. The spell was gone. She had to act now; she could see Buck about to issue the command again.

'Ninjask, use Aerial Ace now!'

Her pokemon shot out of the hole like a bat from hell. It whizzed past both of the Ghosts who had just about launched their Trick Room. They halted as the damage from the attack finally hit. Both pokemon were flown to the side, crashing into the ground causing creators to form.

'.. Speed is my element,' Marley silently said '... you don't have a chance'

'I can WIN!' Buck cried out, 'Dusknoir use Baton Pass!'

The most overused move in this match once again caused a flash of light before Umbreon now stood, glaring.

'Attract!' Buck jabbed at the flying bug.

Umbreon twirled before a storm of hearts erupted from the surrounding air. They all flew towards Ninjask but he moved out of the way, not even being grazed.

'Ninjask use Slash!' Her pokemon flew at mach speed towards the eeveelution but Buck had other ideas.

'Counter Shield with Dark Pulse!'

Umbreon jumped on its back and began to spin, using the momentum to release waves of darkness from the rings on its body. Ninjask had no time to recalibrate its flight path so it ended up being struck by multiple lines of the dark.

It was flung backwards, landing with a heavy thud on the ground.

...

It struggled to get up.

'Ninjask if you can please use Swords Dance'

The blades on its arms began to glow a soft blue, the move had worked.

'You're the best... Please use Baton Pass'

In a flash of light Arcanine had again taken the field. The ridiculous amount of Speed it had gained from Ninjask allowed it to almost look invisible as it ran a circle of Umbreon.

'... Fire Fang' Her pokemon rushed in and before Umbreon knew what had happened a small explosion of flame engulfed it. It rolled out of the smoke, a small burn on its left forearm.

'Now use Thunder Fang' her pokemon howled before it charged again, once more striking Umbreon. The small pokemon now found its body to be coursing with electricity. Once Arcanine had released its prey it dashed over to Marley's side of the field awaiting further instruction.

'... Buck, I think Umbreon is finished' she said, brushing a loose piece of hair from her eye.

But when she looked at him, she found that a fiery aura had consumed him, it was his passion that shone through his eyes and gave her a start.

'Umbreon will never give up, and I won't either!' He cried his resolve out. The small patch of dirt they were using as a battleground echoed with his words.

'Umbreon use Moonlight!' The rings on his Pokemon's body radiated a brilliant white, restoring energy to the Dark Type.

'Now Toxic!' He had hoped to catch Marley off guard but her pokemon swiftly moved out of the way as the glob of poison was fired.

'Extremespeed' Arcanine was gone. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke when he took off running, he was busy surrounding the target, he didn't notice the bright glow of its eyes, or the fact that the poison from before was moving.

'.. You taught it Psychic?' Marley questioned as Arcanine's advance was halted at her call.

The poison from before was now a sphere that surrounded Umbreon, a powerful defence, one expected from Buck.

'Heh, you like it!' It wasn't a question, just another taunt.

'Umbreon now use Pursuit!' His pokemon dashed forward, the sphere of toxins still hovering around it.

'How exactly do you plan to hit my pokemon?' Marley asked as she directed her beloved beast away from danger.

'Simple, my Umbreon can use Psychic to mould the shape of Toxic, and because my dear, sweet pokemon can control it, he would never make it touch himself! Hahaha!' Buck laughed in victory.

Arcanine continued to dodge, an easy matter but one that soon nearly tired him out.

'... perhaps Roar Arcanine' Marley suggested and the pokemon unleashed a savage howl. So powerful in fact that the small black pokemon inside the poison armour was sent back into its pokeball, the toxins spilling to the floor. In its place, a large dark brown statue like pokemon appeared. It hovered above the ground, rotating on the spot slowly.

It was Buck's ace, Claydol.

'I was hoping to bring him out later' Buck cried but he soon dismissed the slight annoyance.

'Claydol how about you use Calm Mind' at his command the eyes of his pokemon glowed bright.

'Arcanine, quickly use Flamethrower!'

A torrent of flames escaped Arcanine's maw and speed towards the new foe.

'Light Screen, then boost it with Reflect and Barrier!'

The three moves combined to form a force field like no other. The flames wrapped around the protective cacoon but none entered.

'Excellent Claydol, now use Earth Power!'

His pokemon aimed its short arms at the ground, causing massive boulders to raise themselves and launch at Arcanine. The fiery hound managed to dodge the first few but he was soon struck by a rock the size of its head. It flew back a few feet but managed to remain upright.

'I think you puppy's had it' Buck sneered but he was shocked when his favourite narrowly avoided a jet of flames. Arcanine had a will of fire; he was determined to help Marley achieve her dream. She silent thanked her partner before facing Buck.

'I-I was just a shy, nervous girl before but now I feel my Pokemon's resolve. It is time to end this!' She yelled before issuing a Fire Blast.

'Rapid Spin!' Buck countered and his Pokemon's image blurred with an intense speed. The flames, wrapped around the clay pokemon and a mini tornado was formed. Claydol, however, felt no effect from the flames other than a slight heat. The flames eventually dispersed and Claydol faced the dog, but it was gone.

There was no hole so it can't have gone underground and it certainly wasn't running about. Claydol barely looked up before a Fire Fang had crashed down on its head.

'Claydol get up and use Psychic on the Toxic!'

Marley had forgotten about that.

Now the sludge had formed three rings, each spun around Claydol, each deadly.

'Haha, how does you will compare against mine?' Buck wondered before he ordered for his pokemon to attack. The three rings of Toxics now formed three large whips, each lashing out to Arcanine. He dodged one, it making smashing the ground to pieces, while he incinerated the next one that came at him with a Heat Wave. He was persistent Buck would give him that.

'Claydol, bring the rings back in' the now two rings resumed their position around the Ground Type.

'Harden, and then use Earth Power' His pokemon flashed silver before is again sent a wave of Boulders after Arcanine.

'Baton Pass!' Marley cried and just in the nick of time her pokemon came back to her.

'Let's show them your skills, Shaymin!' She sent out her newest team member. The small grass pokemon usually resembled a hedgehog but now that it was in its Sky Forme it looked like a small dog with oversized ears.

'Shaymin is really a fast type pokemon' Buck pointed out confused at Marley's addition.

'Normally, but thanks to Baton Pass all the stat changes from both Arcanine AND Ninjask are now his, meaning he is the fastest member of my team right now.'

'Crap!' Buck yelled before his pokemon lashed out with the poisonous whips. They both missed as Shaymin arced gracefully in the sky, dashing towards its prey before it even had a chance to think of a counter attack.

'Energy Ball!' Marley yelled and her pokemon quickly created a small orb of energy which it launched at Claydol.

It connected and a small rocked the field, Claydol was mostly fine however.

Shaymin returned to the sky, eager to fight.

'Now use Air Slash!' Her pokemon spun about before it scratched the air, sending a wave of it gushing out.

'Claydol protect yourself with Teleport, then attack!'

The pokemon obeyed and when the wave of wind crashed into it is popped out and reappeared behind the Grass type, wrapping the toxic cords around it.

'Shaymin, this is what we were waiting for, take it in and then use Seed Flare!'

The cords wrapped around Shaymin began to lose colour, the toxins were being drained into the scarf on its neck. Eventually all that was left was fresh clean water, which still help Shaymin but now it looked determined.

'Claydol!'

But it was too late.

An explosion of bright blue light erupted out of Shaymin's body. It forced the trainers to shield their eyes and when the world dimmed both pokemon came crashing down to the arena floor.

'How strong was the Toxic attack?' Marley questioned, knowing that only a really powerful venom could cause such an explosion.

'Pretty tough, we worked on it for ages, I am pretty sure it could get to a Steelix like it is.'

'... Amazing'

Both pokemon were fainted. Well, Claydol was, Shaymin was just completely exhausted and in no condition to fight. Both pokemon were returned. Marley had hoped to finish the match with Shaymin as it didn't know Baton Pass. All that stat increase was just wasted but what's done is done.

'Ninjask you're up!'

'Umbreon!'

The two that started the fight now stood centre stage again. Both were much more worn out. There wasn't much left of this fight.

'Ninjask use Agility'

Her pokemon began to increase speed while Umbreon bathed in the Moonlight, restoring its health.

'X-Scissor!'

'Counter Shield!'

However Marley had prepared for this.

She knew that if Ninjask was going to fast then he would run into the beams but, at just the right speed, he could easily avoid each one and reach his target.

It was the right speed.

Ninjask swiftly moved through the beams, finally sweeping Umbreon off its back with a powerful hit.

As Ninjask flew back over, its speed increased yet again.

Umbreon looked tired, Bug type attacks were not good for it but Buck was confident.

'Use Confuse Ray, then follow up with Mean Look!'

As soon as Ninjask turned around it was struck by the yellow coloured beam. It was then followed with Umbreon's eyes flashing a deep red.

'Impressive, but I will win you know' Marley stated before she issued an Agility. The attack however backfired more than expected. Ninjask rushed into the ground at such a high speed that it lodged itself there.

'Now Umbreon use Toxic!' Again it launched the purple liquid, but this time it hit home.

'I am recalling Ninjask,' Marley said taking out her pokeball, '... I believe that it is unable to battle'

At the last few words Buck has his Umbreon lift its Mean Look.

Two to One, he liked those odds.

'Arcanine, show that Shaymin's Sacrifice was not in vain!' Marley tossed the pokeball into the air and from it emerged her tiger stripped beast, It looked fresh, revitalized like it had just been healed.

'But how?' Buck yelled in surprise.

'Shaymin's Healing Wish, it actually did faint you know' She said, unconsciously touch the Dual Types pokeball.

'Arcanine use Take Down!'

Her pokemon rushed forward and slammed into Umbreon, launching it into the air.

'Now use Fire Blast!'

The massive amount of flames that consumed Umbreon caused nearby clouds to disappear, the heat bringing a sweat to both Buck and Marley.

The Dark Type nearly crashed into the ground but Buck swiftly brought out his pokeball and called it back.

One on One, and his pokemon was as good as dead.

He however was not giving up.

'Dusknoir get out here and Substitute!'

When his pokemon emerged instantly a plush version took its place.

'Arcanine use Extremespeed' Marley commanded and her pokemon swiftly dealt with the toy. However when Dusknoir returned it too looked much healthy.

'Rest, gotta love it' Buck smiled, his pokemon waking up with a start.

_He used the Substitute like an alarm clock, the force of being flung back into battle as the ringing... Impressive..._

Marley however left her thought as she quickly noticed that Trick Room had been placed back up.

'Darn,' she muttered, this was not looking good 'Arcanine use Heat Wave'

Her pokemon growled in compliance before launching super heated air towards the Ghost.

It dodged, fading from sight before it reappeared behind the Fire Type and it struck out with a Shadow Punch.

After Arcanine had rolled to its feet, it yelped when Dusknoir followed through with a combination of Fire Punch and Thunder Punch.

'I call that one Burning Impulse!' Buck yelled in triumph.

'...'

Marley didn't know what to say. Her pokemon was fighting for her but in these conditions there was next to no way of victory. She could try and hold out for Trick Room to subside but who knows how long that might take..

'Please... Arcanine... Do your best'

She had no idea why she said it, but she felt that it was what came from her heart.

Arcanine roared, its battle cry causing both Buck and his pokemon to flinch. Blue flames licked the edges of the ground near the hound's feet. In its eye's was a look of passion, of courage and above all, one of devotion. It roared again before being entirely consumed in the flames. The huge column of fire smashed through the top of Trick Room, causing the entire structure to fall apart. However no one paid it any attention. Instead all eyes were focused on the now bright blue flames that coated the orange fur. With a deft cry Arcanine lunged forward, blazing being left in its wake.

'Dusknoir use Shadow Ball!' Buck cried hoping for some sort of miracle.

The ball danced harmlessly off the beast as it continued its charge, it leapt into the air, flames billowing out like that on a comet, before the massive impact shook both trainers to their bones.

'Who knew that Arcanine would learn Flare Blitz?' Marley mused out loud as the two trainers headed back to the Battlecafé.

'Well, it was part of my plan' Buck smiled his usual cocky grin.

'W-what do you mean?' Marley flustered confused.

'I knew that a really intense battle would strike some actual emotions from you and that in turn would help your pokemon grow as well'

Marley wasn't sure whether she believed him or not, but thinking about it she did feel more confident. It was nice.

'... T-thank you' Marley whispered blushing, hoping that Buck wouldn't see. She quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek before she called out her Fire Hound and rode away.

'Heh, still got it' Buck smiled, a small blush creeping on his face.


End file.
